Fran was half asleep when she heard a knock at the door.
She was resting in one of the small rooms that the Kiltias at the Temple at Mt. Bur-Omisace had managed to find for Princess Ashe and her party. It was several hours after the battle the group had had with Judge Magister Bergan, and even though the Princess had stated that they were to leave for their long journey to Archades and the Draklor Laboratory immediately, a quick assessment of the situation had not deemed that possible. They would instead leave at first light and spend the rest of this day assisting the surviving Kiltias and refugees. Fran was grateful not to be leaving so soon as she had been injured in the fight with Bergan, and been instructed by a very forceful Penelo to spend the rest of the day recovering. Fran was sure Balthier would have backed the young girl up had he not been so pre-occupied with his own thoughts.
Speaking of her partner, Fran already knew who it was before she opened the door. In truth, she wanted to be alone but she would also never turn him away. She found herself leaving the sanctuary of her bed as his knocks became more insistent, and heading to the door.
As soon as she opened it Balthier walked straight past her, not saying a word but making a direct line for the first bed he saw and collapsed facedown onto the mattress. Fran let out a quiet sigh, not at his behaviour but at the fact that, of the two beds in the room, he had chosen to collapse on hers.
"Why did I do that?" She heard his muffled voice come through the pillows. Fran didn't need to ask what he was referring to. Instead she simply closed the door and sat down on the bed next to him. He lifted his head up so he could breathe but didn't say anything more. Fran placed a comforting hand on his back. Like how he knew of the strength it took for her to return to the Eruyt Village, she knew of the weight of this the decision to return to Archades for him. Not just the Imperial City even. Draklor. She had found herself wondering if this had always been an inevitability ever since they discovered that the Dawn Shard was nethicite. She had caught Lord Larsa's mention of the good doctor in the Lhusu Mines, and the deceased Imperial soldiers as they searched for her sister… It all felt a little too coincidental for Fran's taste. And seeing her friend in turmoil like this, it was an extremely bitter taste.
She tried to take his mind away from the matter troubling him.
"How fairs the rescue operation?" Balthier let out a heavy sigh and crossed his arms up under his chin.
"It's horrible." He said quietly, his voice flat and devoid of its usual lightness. "You saw it on the way up here. All you can smell is smoke and burning, and all you can hear is crying. All we've been doing is pulling out bodies and healing the wounded. Even Basch and you know how terrible he is with magicks. I think Penelo's still down there with Vaan, she's refusing to give up." He said with an affectionate smile, and Fran joined him in her admiration for the young girl. "And he wondered why I didn't want to be a Judge." He murmured to himself. Fran didn't have to ask who he was.
He turned so he was lying on his back and stared at the ceiling.
"I don't like this trip, Fran. It's causing me to develop a conscious." Fran gave him a tiny smile.
"And we wouldn't want that now, would we?" Balthier finally smiled and let out a snort of laughter. "I thought that was the role of a 'Leading Man'? To save the day?" Balthier looked at her for the first time since he entered the room, with a frown.
"Being a Leading Man is much more complex then that, my dear. If you want a Hero, go and talk to Vaan, I prefer to be a little more three-dimensional." Fran didn't need to say anything, a subtle twitch of her eyebrow said it all for her.
"How are you holding up?" Balthier asked after a moment. The Viera gave him a sideways glance.
"I am healed enough to continue our journey." She said. "Though my concerns about it do not lie with my health." Balthier tried to brush her off.
"Fran, dear friend, you worry too much."
"No, Balthier, I worry just the correct amount." Balthier harrumphed at her words, but then sat up and rested his forehead against her shoulder.
"Why did I do it? Why did I say I'd go back there?" He uttered, quietly. Fran's heart went out to him. She knew this may only get worse before it got better.
"Why did you do it?" She asked. Balthier sat back and looked at her with a furrowed brow.
"I thought you were suppose to tell me that. You with your all-knowing Viera superpowers." He flopped back down on to the bed. Fran twitched her nose as she thought.
"Perhaps you have come to realise, as we all have, that sometimes they only way to truly be free is to face your demons." Balthier considered this but then shook his head.
"That doesn't really sound like me now, does it." He said, condescendingly. Fran's ear twitched in annoyance.
"Then perhaps it was about besting Prince Margrace." She said, sharply. "After all, the Princess is leaving with you and not him as he asked repeatedly."
"Superficial fop." Balthier huffed, not really hearing her last sentence. "He was trying to swoop in and hide her away 'for her own good'. Anyone who knows Ashe can see she doesn't need to be rescued. Protected, yes, but not rescued." Fran gave him an intrigued look but he was so busy stewing in own thoughts he didn't notice.
"You are worried that her desires for the nethicite, and for revenge will consume her." Balthier rubbed a hand over his face.
"Once you've seen it happen once, you don't want it to happen to anyone else." He sighed. "Especially not someone you've come to respect. She maybe an obstinate, arrogant, pain in the arse but she's alright really. They all are. Even Vaan." Fran smiled.
"We have been fortunate with our acquaintances." She nodded. Balthier's face darkened.
"Don't you dare tell any of them I said that." He warned her. "Especially Vaan! You do and I'll shave your ears in your sleep." He fell quiet for a moment, deep in thought. "Do you think she'll hate me if she finds out?" He said, more to himself then anything.
"I don't think she likes you now." Fran returned with a small smile. Balthier glared at her, but smirked as he threw a pillow at her.
"What are you talking about, Fran? I'm the most likeable fellow there is!" He settled more into the bed, seemingly more at ease. "Has anybody called this bed?" He asked, inquiring about sleeping arrangements. Fran scowled at him. There was a knock at the door and she stood to answer it, dropping the thrown pillow on him.
"Yes, I have actually."
"Hmm, I thought it smelt like you." He said, but made no move to vacate it. Fran opened the door to the reveal Princess Ashe. She looked paler then usual but no less determined. She gave the Viera a tired smile when she saw her.
"Hello, Fran. Are you feeling any better?" Fran nodded.
"Yes, thank you, Your Highness. Are you well? Would you like to come in and rest?" Ashe would never admit to it but Fran could see she was exhausted. Casting magicks all day could be incredibly draining. Unsurprisingly, the Princess shook her head.
"Thank you but I'm fine, just a little out of energy that's all. I came to tell you, if you were hungry, the Kiltia's have been kind enough to make us all some supper, if you and…" She stopped as she looked past Fran and dropped her shoulders, completely unimpressed. Fran turned to see the source of her annoyance. Balthier was lounging on the bed, giving her an exaggerated, provocative pose and what Fran could only assume was a seductive look, looking the complete lothario.
"Princess." He purred at her, with a flick his eyebrows. Ashe just sighed and Fran rolled her eyes as she turned back to the Princess.
"…And him," Ashe continued, pointing but not looking at her partner, "wish to come and join us then it will be ready in a few minutes." She sent another scathing look towards Balthier before leaving. Fran heard Balthier leap off the bed and he came and stuck his head out of the door to watch the Princess go.
"We're right behind you." He called with a grin back on his face. He leant on the door frame and Fran surveyed him.
"You take too much pleasure in teasing her so." She said, but was secretly pleased he was no longer dwelling on their new destination. Balthier's good humour vanished however, leaving him much more despondent.
"Fran, I'm willingly returning to Draklor, I need some distraction to keep me sane." He looked back in the direction Ashe had gone. "So does she. And besides," Fran could hear his grin return in force, "you tell me she doesn't love the challenge." Chuckling to himself, he sauntered off down the hall.
Fran took a moment to consider her friend. This would be a long and arduous leg of their journey for him and she would do everything she could to help him come to terms with it, but if this strange, reluctant friendship he was developing with the Princess held the key to surviving it, then so be it.
Fran followed Balthier, smiling to herself as she wondered, not for time, just where this particular distraction might lead.